Car drivers in London are causing the most pollution per commuter, a new study by the University of Surrey has found. But drivers themselves are the commuters least exposed to harmful particulate matter (PM), when compared ...

(Phys.org)—A team of researchers with members from Sweden, the U.S., Russia, Norway and Austria has found higher than expected levels of black carbon at a remote test site in Siberia. In their paper published in Proceedings ...

Children from urban areas of New York City who engaged in vigorous daily exercise had greater exposure to black carbon, a traffic-related pollutant, than children who were less active, according to a study by a multidisciplinary ...

Forest fires hit the headlines all too regularly - in fact, fire affects about 4.64 million km2 of biomass per year, an area almost three times the size of Alaska. But after the fire something remains - stable carbon.

Engines that burn diesel can spew a large amount of pollution containing soot particles. These particles have an impact on health and climate in some of the world's most sensitive regions. Researchers at Pacific Northwest ...

New research by scientists at King's College London suggests that air pollution from London's roads is improving overall but more work may be needed to tackle some sources of traffic pollution, which continue to breach limits ...

Black carbon

Black carbon or BC is formed through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel, and biomass, and is emitted in both anthropogenic and naturally occurring soot. Black carbon warms the planet by absorbing heat in the atmosphere and by reducing albedo, the ability to reflect sunlight, when deposited on snow and ice. Black carbon stays in the atmosphere for only several days to weeks, whereas CO2 has an atmospheric lifetime of more than 100 years.